The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation to the Summit County Council on two large and heavily debated development projects, saying they recommended the projects because they fit the code, not because they supported them.
The first project the commission voted on was the Stone Ridge development, a 230-unit project proposed on 200-acres east of Old Ranch Road. The applicant met opposition from neighbors and continuous questions from the Planning Commission about the legality of the developer’s request for additional homes under the CORE program.
Commissioners explained their objections to the project prior to approval.
“I am struggling with our role in the process, especially concerning a CORE development, being completely administrative and all the approval power resting in the County Council,” Planning Commissioner Bassam Salem told the other Commissioners Tuesday night. “We can only look at this project under the legal interpretation of the CORE, not what we think the intent of the CORE program was.”
Commissioner Mike Washington said that by structuring the positive recommendation as they did, the Commission will have more of an impact on the County Council’s final decision about the development.
“Of the nine years I have been on the Commission this is one of the stranger decisions I have seen,” Washington said. “We made sure the focus was on our main concerns with the projects, including density and the traffic impact. Not on the fact that we gave it a positive recommendation.”
Washington added that the project’s workforce housing may not be needed following the construction of projects like Silver Creek Village.
Salem said that if the Commission had judged the project on the intent of CORE, the recommendation would have been different. But based on the list of requirements the Commission was told to examine by its legal council, the project complied.
“No reasonable person reading the CORE documents would say this development should happen,” he said. “It is not in the spirit of the law. But the mistake I guess is on us for having unclear language in the development plan that can allow such a high-density project to happen.”
The Commission voted 5-1 for a positive recommendation on the Stone Ridge Development. Salem cast the dissenting vote because he disagreed with the wording of the motion. The developers will appear before the County Council next for the final decision.
“The County Council does not need to look at the code, their decision can be totally based on their discretion,” Salem said.
The Village at Kimball Junction expansion
The Planning Commission also gave a positive recommendation to the expansion of the Village at Kimball Junction, including a new gas station, Del Taco, and an expansion of the existing Smith’s Food and Drug.
The only issue that was discussed prior to the approval of the project was the location of the workforce housing, which is currently planned to be situated behind the T.J. Maxx complex. The Planning Commission encouraged the developers to meet with the Cottonwood business owners next door to address their concerns.
“The only disappointment that really came out of this project was that the developers said they would be unable to provide CNG gas at the new gas station due to space and noise issues,” Washington said, adding that developers will try to add an electric-car charging station instead.
The Commission voted 5-1 on a positive recommendation. Commissioner Bruce Taylor voted against it because he said it did not meet the intent of the Specially Planned Area program under which it was applying.